RSVP with Love Page 9

  To her surprise CB was their waiter, quiet and efficient, well trained. Chloe teasingly asked if he had a twin brother. CB showed he appreciated her humor with a small genuine smile just for her but otherwise didn’t respond.

  Kevin was gracious and gallant, confidently making sure that their selections were prepared and presented to his satisfaction. He’d chosen one of her favorite merlot wines for dinner. Their conversation was light and amusing and a good give-and-take between them that seemed so easy and natural. And they laughed a lot. He was complimentary about her appearance, her couture dress. She was no less so with Kevin. He did a business suit justice, appearing always at ease and relaxed…and in charge.

  The sudden reappearance of Billie Burns began to seem an apparition to Chloe. After her second glass of wine she was sure she’d overreacted and didn’t have anything to worry about at all. And she was especially relieved that she held no bitterness for a woman whose life had fallen into ruins long before Chloe had been taken away and rescued by the state.

  She momentarily squeezed her eyes closed, as if to banish the image of Billie with her malnourished and unkempt presence, old before her time.

  There but for the grace of God…

  All in all there was not a single part of the evening that Chloe could find fault in. Perhaps, only, that it would have to end.

  It was a little after midnight when she and Kevin left, slipping out the same way they’d come in. And then Kevin decided he had to have ice cream for dessert. She laughed when he began to drive like a crazy man, all over Atlanta, looking for any place that was still serving at one in the morning. They were unsuccessful and Chloe, feeling for him, promised she’d treat for ice cream another time.

  They drove out of downtown Atlanta and headed…Chloe hadn’t really been paying attention. Did it matter? Leaning back against the headrest she felt dreamy. She was tired and sated and silently reflecting that, as dates go, the evening with Kevin had been unexpected, fun, noisy, sweet and had given her enough memories to almost make up for her longing.

  It was a moment before Chloe realized that they were stopped, the car idling, Kevin sitting motionless next to her.

  “Kevin? What’s wrong?”

  Kevin sighed deeply, reached out for her hand and held it. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m thinking. I should take you home.”

  His thumb rubbed slowly on the back of her hand. He turned to gaze at her, and she felt the air they were breathing change. She knew when her heartbeat changed, her anticipation suddenly sharpened and the tension between them seemed a living tangible thing.

  Kevin put the car in neutral and leaned over her. She let her eyes drift shut as his mouth teased across hers, sending a wave of delight that she felt in her breasts, in her stomach and in her now warm heated sex. It was delicious. She was already imagining more.

  Kevin played and pulled at her lips, knowing exactly what he was doing. He gave her just enough to make her yearn for more. He kissed her fully, deeply, his mouth rocking across hers. Chloe felt his fingertips trail down her throat to just above the valley between her breasts. Her breathing was shallow and rapid. He ended the kiss but stayed to rub his cheek against hers.

  “Chloe, I don’t want you to go.”

  “What are my options?” she asked softly, her breathing still a little labored.

  “Come home with me.”

  It wasn’t a question. It wasn’t a demand. It was a clear statement of what he wanted. Which, as luck or providence would have it, seemed like a very good idea.

  So, this is what it’s like being at a crossroads, she thought to herself. It was now or maybe never. How many second chances would she be given?

  “Okay,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

  Kevin lightly kissed her again before shifting gears and continuing to drive.

  Driving into Kevin’s exclusive gated community went right over her head. She could neither see nor appreciate the beautiful design and layout of the development, apparent even in the dark. They approached a two-story house of contemporary Tudor design with a detached multiple-car garage adjacent to it. Not a word was spoken as Kevin parked the car and then led the way inside, disarming the alarm system next to the door.

  Chloe stood nervous and uncertain experiencing, once again, her adolescent insecurities. Even in the dark she knew the house was grand. She was momentarily overtaken with a strong feeling once again, like when she was growing up, of not belonging. Kevin was setting the alarm again, turning on a light to illuminate a hallway and the staircase at the end. He reached for her hand, and Chloe placed hers trustingly in his. But then they stood, in the dark, facing one another.

  “Would you like something to drink?” Kevin asked.

  “I’m fine.”

  “Are you having second thoughts? Maybe it’s too soon. I’d understand, Chloe.”

  She squeezed his hand. “No, you wouldn’t. And…it feels right.”

  She allowed herself to be led through the darkened house, up a stairwell and into a bedroom. She was glad that he didn’t turn on the light. There was a night-light on the baseboard just inside the room and another visible from a master bath and dressing room. They were enough.

  Chloe made the first obvious move. She stepped out of her heels and put her purse on a nearby bureau. Kevin shrugged out of his jacket, pulled off his tie and began unbuttoning his shirt. She hesitated, a little uncertain, and then stepped forward to take over the chore of removing his shirt. It was apparently the right move, as Kevin cupped her chin and kissed her for it. He eased out of his own shoes, opened his trousers and pulled down the zipper.

  Chloe turned her back. It would have been too easy and obvious to look and see the evidence of his erection. She wanted to be surprised. She wanted to feel it first. She opened the dress zipper under her arm. The thin spaghetti straps slipped from her shoulder, and she felt Kevin’s hands slip around her. In one quiet motion he pushed the dress down her slender body as he also stepped close behind her. He was still wearing his shorts, but there was no mistaking the stiff length of him that pressed against her lower back. She kicked the dress aside, with nothing else on but her bikini panties.

  Her head fell back against Kevin’s chest as he held her and nuzzled her shoulder and neck and ear with his lips. His hands gently rode up her torso and cupped her breasts, simultaneously kneading them and rubbing a fingertip across the nipples.

  Chloe was not so much a neophyte that she didn’t know what would happen or hadn’t anticipated what Kevin would do. But what he was making her feel was so far beyond any previous experience that she now knew she’d been cheated in the past. Shortchanged of passion and desire and satisfaction by young men who didn’t know what they were doing. Or hadn’t cared if it was good for her.

  She couldn’t find her voice. She wanted to say Kevin’s name. She wanted to utter something that would express her surprise and sheer joy of discovery of what it was supposed to feel like between a man and a woman.

  “Get on the bed,” Kevin said urgently behind her.

  “Kevin…wait. I have something.”

  “I’ve got one.”

  They talked over each other. When they again stood facing one another each held out an open palm. Each held a wrapped condom. And then they tried to see each other’s face. Chloe guessed it was fair to say that neither had expected the other to consider protection.

  Kevin took hers from her hand. “We’ll save yours for later.” He put them both on the nightstand.

  Kevin put one strong arm around her and, bracing one knee on the bed, came forward lowering them both to the surface. He was on top of her. He was kissing her, the effect making Chloe feel dizzy and disoriented, almost panting with a need for something to happen. An easing of the powerful ache she felt. A release of this hot tension in her stomach and between her legs. She was ready and instinctively wanted to position her body to lie on her back. But he had other plans.

  He shifted to his side, holding her and stil
l kissing her. But one hand was free to stroke her, her breasts and stomach.

  “Kevin,” she moaned, pleading.

  “Not yet,” he whispered.

  His hand glided along her thigh, down and then up again between them. His cupped over her mound. Chloe’s breathing became agitated in her awareness of what he was going to do. He soothed her with his voice, crooning and whispering and coaxing and gentle. He reassured her with kisses.

  “Just relax, Chloe. Relax. I know what I’m doing.”

  Kevin began to move his fingers against the sensitive lower lips. She was wet, and it was easy for him to control the pressure, the stroke and caress, circling and rubbing and letting her response tell him what else to do. Immediately she responded, caught off guard by the exquisite sensation, the delicious feelings that spiraled through her body but centered exactly where his fingers explored. Quickly her pelvis developed a rhythm, rocking and rotating against his fingers, following the movement that created the best feeling for her.

  “Oh…oh, my God,” she moaned breathlessly, her breathing erratic and deep and panting.

  “That’s it. Go with it,” he encouraged, his lips against her ear.

  She clutched at his arm, holding on as if otherwise she would fall into some invisible abyss.

  “Kevin…ah…aah…”

  Chloe realized the tension was tightening in her body, and with it came the sudden wrenching contractions and a deeply physical euphoria that she’d never felt before. She felt shattered, floating, mindless, limp.

  “Let it happen. Let it happen.”

  She couldn’t move, and she felt no need to. Kevin stroked her a moment longer and removed his hand with a final caress.

  “First time?”

  She was too embarrassed to admit it but in any case only had the strength to nod to acknowledge the explosive orgasm.

  He kissed a shoulder and leaned over her to find one of the wrapped condoms.

  “There’s more where that came from,” he boasted.

  Chloe lay in a dreamy state just beginning to come to her senses. She marveled over what her body had been capable of. What Kevin had done to her. For her. The bed shifted and rocked, and finally Kevin came back to poise over her. She stretched up a hand to stroke his hard bare chest. To caress his cheek. He turned a kiss into her palm. She felt like a beached whale waiting to be washed out to sea. Then Kevin took her hand and placed it around his penis, neatly and safely sheathed in a condom.

  “We’re good to go,” he murmured.

  He stretched out atop her body with a sensuous, undulating pressure, starting to make love to her.

  It was not lost on Chloe that not only did Kevin believe in being prepared with protection, he’d obviously never had to worry about opportunities to use it. But there was also no evidence, no mention of other women in his life, almost from the moment they’d met in July.

  Kevin did not allow her to completely recover from the first earth-shattering climax he coaxed her to. She was still feeling a sweet throbbing ache between her legs when he positioned himself, careful not to put his full weight on her slender frame. With blind precision he slowly entered her.

  There was very little resistance, and what there was she felt as a titillating stroking inside her. She was still so sensitive that her back arched reflexively, and she tilted her hips upward to make the passage for him easy. Her knees pulled back, and she wrapped her legs around the base of his buttocks. She began to pant again, her insides already twisting with that painful delight of stimulated tissue and nerves. Kevin grunted softly, thrusting slowly but deeply until they both found the rhythm to move together.

  Chloe’s hand caressed his shoulders, feeling the muscles work and flex under her fingers. She rubbed his neck, held the sides of his face and reached up to kiss him tenderly. He hungrily kissed her back while his hips danced against her.

  Then Kevin found her hands, threaded their fingers together and held them down on either side of her head. With only their hips and thighs and pelvis and stomachs working, it was easy to concentrate on the center of the storm. Chloe knew when Kevin finally broke over the edge. He strained into her groin, undulating his hips. She was almost there. And he quietly released a hand to wiggle between them, found the spot he was searching for that let loose the rush of pleasure once more from within her. The deep throbbing left her heart racing.

  She awakened fairly early the next morning and found herself alone in Kevin’s bed. She knew by the deep silence all around her that she was alone in the house. Immediately Chloe knew he’d gone jogging. She languished in the bed that was filled with the subtle scents of them both. And she didn’t feel at all as if she was in a strange place…a strange bed.

  When she finally did get out of bed Chloe realized she had nothing to put on. There was just her cocktail dress from the night before. She didn’t even have a bra since the dress didn’t require one. Glancing around Kevin’s dressing room she noticed a short pile of sweatshirts and athletic tank tops. She selected one shirt, and upon lifting it found that it was a Hollington shirt in the school colors, navy blue and white. It was well worn, the fabric soft and the colors faded. Chloe pulled it on over her head.

  Sometime during the night, somewhere in Kevin’s bed, she’d lost most of the hairpins from the upswept style. Not finding a comb, Chloe simply used her fingers and hand to shake her hair out, letting it fall around her face. She rolled up the sleeves of the shirt, but the hem caught her a little above mid thigh.

  Despite the urge and curiosity she didn’t want to explore Kevin’s home without his knowledge. But she made her way to the first floor in her bare feet and found the kitchen. It was easy enough to put on coffee to drip and to locate several pieces of fresh fruit. There was an ample supply of bottled water in the refrigerator and several containers of leftover food. From one of his restaurants? Food he’d cooked for himself? Or had someone cooked for him?

  That Saturday morning was not a pretty day. Not as lovely and clear as the night before had been. Already the Georgia air was humid and still. She had a suspicion that Kevin normally didn’t use the formal entrance for getting into his own house but probably preferred the more convenient and not so visible side door through which he’d led her the night before. So Chloe went out that way, discovering a smaller area and flagstone path leading to the garage where there was a home gym in a back room of the garage. Outside the door on a cement garden bench is where she sat to remember making love, smile secretly to herself, make daydreams and wait for him.

  Less than ten minutes later Kevin suddenly appeared, coming to a flat stop outside the gate. His breathing was only slightly labored. The bandanna tied around his forehead was soaked, and the visible parts of his body glistened and ran with perspiration. He came through the gate, pushed it shut behind him and used the tail of his tank top to wipe his face. Then he opened his eyes and spotted her. He hesitated in his steps but slowly reached her on the bench. Without a word Chloe retrieved the chilled bottle of water she’d set on the ground next to the bench. She popped the cap and handed it to him. Silently, Kevin accepted the water, placing it to his lips and in four or five quick gulps emptied it. He sighed in repletion, just as he had the first day they met in his office. He stretched out long legs and crossed them at the ankles. He swung an arm behind Chloe’s head, draping it around her shoulders, his large hand dangling. After a moment he cupped her shoulder and squeezed it.

  “You’re some sight for a weary man, Chloe Jackson. I’m glad you stayed…”

  Chapter 5

  “Welcome back, and good morning to those of you just joining us for this segment of the show—what we call ‘What’s New in Atlanta…’”

  Chloe sat still and poised, a sedate smile fixed to her face. She’d been told not to look directly into the camera but to keep her gaze on Cassidy Daley, the host of the program and the one who would be interviewing her. But Chloe was sure she probably looked unnatural and certainly not relaxed. The two-minute piece, meant
to tell the viewing audience all about RSVP, was going to be a disaster.

  “It’s so nice to see you, Chloe.” Cassidy smiled in her cheery TV persona.

  “Thanks so much for having me,” Chloe got out.

  “Now, I have to confess I’d never heard of your company, which is an event planning service in Atlanta, until Kevin Stayton introduced us a few weeks ago.” Cassidy spoke directly to the camera. “Now who doesn’t know Kevin and his amazingly successful string of popular restaurants and clubs in and around Atlanta. I just happened to be dining one evening at Bollito and ran into Kevin himself and Chloe Jackson. So, how do you two know each other?”

  Chloe sighed inwardly. So here it was. Not a real interview to promote her business but a veiled attempt to find out about her and Kevin together at Bollito. But she also remembered the seriousness with which Kevin had advised her of the incredible publicity she would get because of Cassidy’s appeal and huge audience. But she’d expressed her doubts to Kevin.

  “Kevin, frankly I’m suspicious of her motives. I can’t tell you how many press releases I’ve sent out hoping that I’d at least get a mention for my business.”

  “I understand, Chloe, but that’s not how things work. Sorry to say, but it’s about who you know. Look, if being with me makes Cassidy curious enough to have you on the show, then you have to make sure she stays focused on RSVP. Figure out how to work it.”

  It was good advice and of course Kevin was right, but Chloe bristled at what she felt was essentially a dog and pony presentation.

  “Kevin offered to help with some of the planning for the October homecoming weekend at Hollington College. We both graduated from Hollington, and I’ve been chosen by the college to organize all the events. That’s what I do, as you pointed out.”

  “That’s right,” Cassidy jumped in, smiling brightly at the camera. “Chloe operates a fairly new business in downtown Atlanta, actually it’s been around about three years, called RSVP.” She turned to Chloe. “You know I got excited about having you on the show when Kevin, who’s a dear friend, mentioned the fantastic things you do. I also found out that several people around the studio had good things to say about your service…” She quickly consulted her notes. “There was a bridesmaids’ luncheon at the historic Herndon House, and a sleepover children’s birthday party at the zoo! Doesn’t that sound like fun?